Christmas with the family
by FreezePride
Summary: Characters: Even (Vexen), Ienzo (Zexion), ((Aeleus, Braig, Dilan, Arlene and Lumaria make an appearance)) Winter and Christmas themed drabble! This one is Even and Ienzo centric, second chapter is Aeleus and Ienzo centric and the last one is Even and Lumaria (Marluxia) centric. I hope to give you the warm-fuzzies with this little story. :) It's so very unlike me.
1. Chapter 1

It was no strange affair to see that it was getting late and the labs were still a flurry of motion. Snow was gently falling, collecting on a windowsill which revealed a scene which could have been printed on a christmas card. White puffs had floated and collected into the most spectacular, shining blanket. It glimmered as the sun finished setting, turning the sky a vividly sparkling pink.

It went sorely unnoticed, however.

Books were open, and they were both furiously taking notes by the harsh overhead lights which spared no expense in revealing every detail of the room. All of it's organized corners to all of the messy, half taken notes abandoned for another promising subject, a more promising experiment. There were specimens in test tubes, chemicals bubbling and simmering away in all colors and varieties and the two occupants of the room were far too busy to notice the winter wonderland forming right outside their window.

"My report is nearly complete." Ienzo commented, jotting something down, looking back to his results under a microscope and continuing the process as though it were as easy as breathing. Something about the young man looked grim, weathered. His eyes were tempered beyond their years with something that might have been wisdom at one point but had settled into something akin to bitterness. Most strangers were surprised to hear that he was a mere two decades old, but his single eyed glare usually kept them from balking at him.

"Good." Even answered listlessly, scanning the pages before him. His pupils moved so fast, most onlookers found it dizzying. Being around the elder scientist was an unnerving past time, but the young former-apprentice actually found his incessant note taking, his pouring over scientific journals to be somewhat calming. One could always depend on Even and his study habits.

...or could you?

Ienzo was roused from his work by a sudden motion he caught in his peripheries. Even had jumped to attention as though a thought had just dropped directly into his brain. He looked up from his work and fixed Ienzo with a rather unfocused gaze. His mental mechanizations were quite clearly far from this conversation, which was odd consider that just a fraction of a second ago he had been engrossed in the work before him.

"Is something wrong?" Ienzo asked with a quirk of a brow. Even set down his notes and stepped quickly over to Ienzo's desk and slipped the books and microscope away from the prodigy. Ienzo went from being surprised to being angry just a touch too quickly.

"I said I was _nearly_-"

"You should take a break." Even cut in softly but he might as well have screamed it. The words themselves left Ienzo dumbfounded, which is quite a feat considering that the most common complaint about Ienzo was that he never stopped talking (very strikingly like another certain scientist, but that freudian tangent is an entirely different subject).

"What?"

"You should take a break. It's quite late." Even gestured vaguely to the darkness outside the window. He glanced at the door nervously and then back to Ienzo. "Really, I'll be fine here."

Ienzo was still picking his jaw up from the floor, trying to process the words that had just come out of Even's mouth. He pinched himself on the arm. Yes, he was very much awake. "Do you mind expanding on this for just a moment?" The eye quirk had settled into a knit brow that Even could only half see. Even's own eyes narrowed at his orders being challenged so easily by, in his eyes, the smallest of the apprentices.

But after a moment, he sighed heavily and put a wayward hand to his temples, massaging softly and shaking his head. "When I was your age," He began, pausing to collect himself and Ienzo couldn't help but think, Oh, Gods, not this again. Even continued regardless of the childish eye-roll. "I spent far too much time in the labs. I'm learning that I ignored a great many people that way." He named this off and seemed to process it a second later, looking down to his feet and shaking his head again, apparently perplexed with just a hint of shame. Ienzo maintained his silence, now out of sheer amazement. Perhaps it was possible to teach an old dog new tricks after all, he reflected on a surface level. Deep down, his mind was channeling through an endless array of memories, his five year old self standing at the door to the labs, watching Even with wide round eyes as the man worked furiously away, hearts floating suspended all around him, no time to look up and spot the storybook clutched in the child's hands.

The sight of his back, the silhouette of his tall, imposing form framed in the harsh lights of their labs had become a norm to him.

Perhaps that was why when he looked up, seeing those brilliant green eyes looking at him imploringly, though not pushing him onward to get that report done, to revolutionize the industry, to surpass him finally, Ienzo was rendered speechless. Even wanted the child to achieve what all other scientists could not. The secret of life, perhaps?

Problem was, Even had already played God. He was still paying the price for it.

"What I'm trying to say is that you still have time. You should take that into consideration." Even's attention was still locked on Ienzo, begging him to avoid a fuss.

Ienzo gave a small shrug, not one of insubordination, but rather because his mind was still trying to piece together a cohesive string of words. This _never_ happened. He stepped out from around the desk and made his way toward the door, taking a moment of pause, looking back at Even as the elder man gathered up Ienzo's tools and began to clean them, making them presentable and ready for the next day of work.

Even jumped slightly, feeling a light tug at the arm of his lab coat. He snapped his attention to Ienzo, the perpetrator who was now looking quite a bit younger than his years as he opened his mouth to speak.

"I'monlyleavingifyoucomewithme."

Even paused. His mouth thinned into an annoyed line. "I know I taught you to enunciate much more clearly than-"

"I'm only leaving if you come with me." Ienzo repeated in clipped tones, sounding just as annoyed as his counterpart. It was Even's turn to be amazed. He gaped at the prodigy, opening his mouth to respond but finding himself absolutely speechless. He cleared his throat uselessly, one thought occurring to him above all the rest, that perhaps it was possible to get a second chance. All of the times it had never even occurred to him that he was being neglectful rushed back to him, unbidden. Perhaps, it was time to make this right.

He nodded, a small smile playing at his lips as he set the books aside, going over to his own desk to close up his work. "Fine, Ienzo." He said in mock exasperation, setting his notes neatly on top of his reference material with a small flourish that made the prodigy want to groan and storm out without him. He waited, regardless as the man returned and they both exited the labs, flipping off the overhead lights with a decisive click and leaving the only source of illumination to be the rather magical, blue shimmer of the snow from the moon. Even hesitated in the doorway, feeling oddly as though he were breaking some sort of rule by leaving his work behind here. Another small tug at his coat jarred him back to the present.

Even took Ienzo by the arm and led him down the hallway, the heels of their boots clacking discordantly off of the cold stone walls. "Where are you-?" Ienzo began.

Even opened the doors to the main hall of the castle and Ienzo's eyebrows shot up to his hairline (yes, even the unseen one). The main hall could only be described as being 'decked out' he would recall, once he had processed the insane amount of warm reds and vibrant greens which adorned the scene. Garland was strung along the ceiling, beautiful silver bows tied every now and then to shimmer among the verdant green. Puffs of snow were falling, completely disappearing before it hit the ground, obviously a bit of magic provided personally by the ice master himself. The tree which had been arranged was the shining glory of the entire scene though. It sparkled with magical crystals as though it were frozen, glittering in the soft light of the room like diamonds which all seemed to gather at the very top to form an elegant, crystalline heart. Someone (Ienzo knew exactly who) had neatly placed blood-red roses among the pine branches, almost as if to emphasize their beauty nestled among the gems of ice. Aeleus, finally out of his guard uniform and into his casual clothing was gently placing a few wrapped boxes under the tree, arranging them with the upmost care. Dilan was setting down a platter full of deliciously warm sugar cookies next to a few pitchers of eggnog. Arlene wasted no time in swiping a few cookies before cackling and running off to join Lumaria who was lounging on the couch, admiring his handiwork. Braig took the chance of a momentary distraction to smack Dilan in the rump, dodging skillfully away as the other man swiped at him, causing the cookies to splay across the table. Ienzo looked up to Even finally.

The academic smiled widely, expectantly, almost childishly. "Merry Christmas!" He said, with a touch of awkwardness, as though unsure how to portray 'happiness' now that he had his heart back, or rather he had always been that confused when it came to human emotion but the feeling seemed to be overwhelming him. Ienzo smiled back. For the first time that winter, despite all of the ice and snow, he felt quite warm.

"Merry Christmas, Even." Ienzo couldn't remember Even looking so satisfied and proud as they walked into the room together.


	2. Chapter 2

Ienzo shook the present, almost violently and Aeleus looked like the prodigy might have just started choking a puppy. He swiped the delicately wrapped box from Ienzo's hands with a speed which no one would have been able to assess someone of his size would have. Ienzo snapped his attention to him, looking irate and clearly not having expected such a sudden reaction. Really, he had just been checking his gift…enthusiastically. So what if he managed to rip the paper? Maybe open it a touch earlier than usual? He knew the gift was from Aeleus anyway, and while he could almost put money on the fact that Even was going to get him something large, shiny and scientific (not a useless gift in the slightest, but one did tend to get bored of monotony), he could never be certain of what Aeleus had in mind.

The guard had always known what he needed without even hinted at asking. Whether it be the skateboard he had tried fleetingly as a child (which had ended in so many scraped knees that Even had forbid it, calling the toy a 'menace' and the boy along with it) or a musical instrument (a small guitar that Ienzo had made sure to practice daily until he considered himself good enough to play alongside Aeleus. He never quite perfected the music, but he certainly did enjoy the time he spent with his guardian). Aeleus always seemed to know exactly what the prodigy had in mind.

And this was his gift, after all.

Every year, though, to Aeleus upmost dismay, Ienzo never quite had the patience to wait until Christmas morning to be able to tear through his gifts, to satisfy his curiosity and hunger for attention. The reminder that someone had thought of him was warming. The thought that someone had known him well enough to have gotten him something that he had truly desired was another level of bliss entirely. Sometimes Master Ansem would be home for the weeks around Christmas and Ienzo would receive a trinket or two, well meaning but usually aimed at a child far younger than himself as the boy got older and Ansem forgot to take that into account. Sometimes Dilan set aside a plate of freshly baked cookies, just for him (which he would be so very ecstatic to get until he devoured them all at once and immediately regretted it for the stomachache it caused. Braig once got him old socks. Ienzo was almost certain that they had already been used…and not washed.

Even spared no expense though. For his little prodigy, it was volumes of reference material, endless books at his disposal, the finest of science kits, the most highly valued tools in the industry. Normally, Even was such a frugal man, having no need for fine clothing, for expensive trinkets, but when Ienzo was involved and the excuse of buying extra learning material for the child was concerned, Even was monstrously generous. The catch always seemed that he wanted each and every one of these gifts to be used, at any and all expense (meaning that brilliant mind of his would be expanded, whether he wanted it to or not.)

But Aeleus was always a different story. He was not a rich man. He sparred all he could manage on gifts, and made by hand what he could not afford. Those gifts were nothing if not entirely heartfelt though. Dilan would get the exact volumes of cultural studies he had been looking for, Braig would find the training weapons he had sworn had been discontinued ages ago. Even's new coffee pot came with a dollop of crystalized sugar candy already on the stirring spoons. If Ienzo hadn't known any better, he would have said the man had the power to read minds just as powerfully as he did, in all of his powers of illusions and trickery, but Ienzo knew better. The child had pestered him for years, demanding to be let in on how exactly he knew what everyone so desperately wanted? Aeleus had thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I listen." He justified easily.

But this was quite a new development though. Aeleus had never prevented him from opening his gifts early. Not in his entire lifetime could he remember the man so adamant about maintaining the surprise of Christmas morning.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ienzo snapped, clearly annoyed. The name on the package was his after all!

"Don't worry, I'll give it back." Aeleus nodded to him knowingly. "But I needed to warn you." There was a significant pause here that lingered between them, the box held aloft, Ienzo's foot tapping in impatience, Aeleus' brow creased with concern.

"I've asked Santa about you."

Any other day, Ienzo would have burst out laughing, he would have scoffed, sneered, jibed at the mere implication that 'Santa' had any clout on what happened during the holiday season, let along brought gifts overnight, but after traveling between worlds, after witnessing the majesty that was the land of all of the Holidays, he didn't even dare even breath too harshly. His bright blue eyes darted about the room, as though the elves were around, listening in with a a twisted and remarkable ease, their magical, beady little eyes seeing what they certainly shouldn't be. "Why would you…?" He trailed, under his breath.

"I was worried about you." He admitted in just as much of an undertone.

"What did he say?" Ienzo finally got around to the real question. Aeleus averted his gaze, disheartened and unreadable. Ienzo groaned, the human equivalent of a balloon being deflated. "You must be joking." He moaned, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand, looking both abashed and upset. "I can't believe it."

Aeleus laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Well, it's never too late to start correcting things." With a small, encouraging smile, the guardian handed over the gift and gestured back to the tree. Ienzo sighed. His curiosity was raging beneath the surface, but would it really kill him just to delay it for just a night longer? He shuffled back to the tree and slipped the box beneath the branches, yet again taking a moment to marvel at the beauty of the main hall and the ice, crystalline decorations before stepping back to Aeleus. The guard in question gave him a warm nod of approval, to which Ienzo smiled at in return before heading for the cookie tray. If he couldn't indulge in gifts, he might as well replace it with something else.

"Oh, still a child, I see." Even murmured in fond, yet condescending tones as he approached Aeleus. "I don't know how you got him to hold off, but congratulations. You've succeeded where all others have failed. You're ever the guardian, Aeleus." The guard in question smiled accommodatingly while Even blatantly laughed at his own joke. The thimble-full of eggnog he must have had was clearly going to his head. "What did you end up saying?" He asked with a mischievous quirk of his brow.

"That I spoke with Santa about him." Aeleus replied earnestly.

Even balked. "He believed you? Oh, still as young as he looks, I'm afraid."

Aeleus paused, watching the scientist closely for a moment before choosing his words with particular care. "And what makes you think I didn't ask Santa about you too?"

Oh, yes, the guardian knew this sly old scientist far too well to let him slide away with the gift that he knew was hidden behind his back. If he was correct, the wrapping was probably almost partially shimmied off by those meticulous, careful fingers anyway. Ienzo hadn't exactly invented this practice after all. While Ienzo had all the ambition to go around shaking boxes, Even had the good sense to keep his 'holiday oriented exploration' to himself. Even fixed him with a pointed stare, Aeleus stared right back, undeterred. There was a suspended pause between them.

Even hurried to slip the present back under the tree. "Put in a good word for me, hm?" He said with a nervous nod as he wobbled back to the snack table for yet another glass of eggnog.

Aeleus sighed contentedly. Yet another Christmas with the family.


	3. Chapter 3

Champagne is a powerful drink, Even surmised, peering into his glass as though seeing it for the first time, his light eyebrows furrowed in thought as his piercingly green eyes traced the curvature of the glass. In a sense, in it's symmetry, as a container of all of that golden liquid, all of those merry bubbles, it was quite hypnotizing. He shook it experimentally, causing a cloud of bubbles to escape to the surface. His fingertips ran along the cold glass edges as he brought it up to his face and sneezed, but he could tell the smell was something light, airy, refreshing as opposed to all of the eggnog he had just consumed.

Chasing alcohol with alcohol, hm? It had been Braig's idea. He hadn't the good sense at that moment to refuse.

"You're supposed to drink it." Chuckled a voice from behind him. He would have jumped from his seat in surprise on a normal night, but his reaction timing was more than slightly hindered and thus he found himself only slightly jarred. Lumaria, of course, found this more amusing than most would have. His smile widened at the prospect of continuing this conversation, but Even was really quite surprised despite himself. "That's the last sense left to test, isn't it?"

Even turned in his seat to find Marluxia standing over the back of the couch, looking less smug than usual, but entirely too friendly. The scientist was surprised, however. Lumaria had caught on to his little game of testing out his drink and now seemed to be playing along. He smiled, shaking his head knowingly. "Technically, I would need to record all of those findings." He replied easily, giving perhaps just a touch too much emphasis to his words. "But being that this is Christmas, perhaps I'll let it go." And with a graceful flourish of his wrist, he took a long draught of the pale gold liquid.

Refreshing, and so deceptively sweet. It tasted like new beginnings, and perhaps just a few bad decisions.

"So, did you get me a present?" Lumaria asked innocently, stepping lightly from his vantage point and around the couch to sit beside Even, trying to remember exactly how many of those tall glasses of champagne he had spied the scientist drinking. Oddly enough, Even was thinking the same exact thing at that moment. He gave Lumaria an incredulous sidelong glance.

"The presents of my presence is not enough?" Even smirked, cut off by the surprise of seeing a rose appear before his very eyes. Lumaria extended it to him, a small smile playing at his own soft lips, watching Even with an amusement which the academic could not quite place.

He quirked a brow at the man in response. "You produce these on a whim and you expect me to believe that this is my 'Christmas gift'? He deadpanned, taking the rose into his hands and setting down his empty glass so that he might properly examine the graceful plant. "Quite beautiful, as per usual." He continued, almost bored. Lumaria frowned in response.

"Do you have a problem?"

"Not at all. Simply an observation." Even replied easily. "And perhaps a suggestion…" Twisting the flower in a circle, tendrils of frost rose from his fingertips, tracing the stem, leaves and thorns with intricate patters and designs that extended all the way up to the flower. The red of the petals was now intertwined with a delicate white lace of frost which sparkled and glimmered in the gentle light of the room. Even held it aloft, admiring it, letting the entirety of the flower pierce his hazy consciousness. Bright green eyes softened to something unreadable. He turned to Lumaria, looking him directly in his royal blue eyes. Lumaria peered back at him, wondering what could possibly be going through that brilliant mind. Even lifted the flower, as though to offer it back as a kind gesture. Lumaria reached out his hand.

And Even did what any drunken, mad scientist would have done in this situation, poked him with the stem. With a cackle of glee, he conceded finally handed the token back to Lumaria and smiled widely at his reaction.

Which was still quite dumbfounded, but now he was shaking his head in disbelief. Despite his best efforts, he was quite amazed by the outward show of skill, the beauty he could so effortlessly create without even knowing about it, and yet the absolute obliviousness of his attitude.

"It won't melt. Well, not for a long while." Even assured, confusing Lumaria's reaction for surprise and concern. When Lumaria maintained his silence, Even's smile faltered. "It's not dead. I assure you." He added a touch weakly.

Lumaria sighed. For someone so damned smart, Even was so damn stupid. "That was not your Christmas gift, Even." He explained slowly with a small, sly grin, pointing a single finger up at the ceiling.

Even peered up at his prompting, quite a feat considering that the ceiling was so very high up in the man hall, but he did manage to spot a small plant sprouting a tiny sprig of something which, in his inebriated state, he couldn't quite name and would have not cared to had he not been directly questioned. He snapped his fingers, as though to prompt his brain. "Oh, I know this. It's-…It's-"

"Mistletoe."

And before Even could even bring himself to comprehend, Lumaria had already pulled him into a kiss.

Somewhere in the background, Braig shouted, "Get a room!"

Arlene followed up with, "And a camera!"


End file.
